Enlightening Summer
by Gryffindork
Summary: Please someone read and review. Set after OoP~Harry gets a letter from Hermione and him and Ron go to visit her during the summer. They find out some things in Hermione's past that are a bit unclear.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. To the lady that does many, many thanks. This is all my ideas and the plot is all mine, if the characters are not. I hope you enjoy the story.  
  
Enlightening Summer  
  
'It's something unpredictable  
  
But in the end is right  
  
I hope you had the time of your life'  
  
*~*Greenday ~~ Time of Your Life  
  
Harry was at Privet Drive and for once in his life, he was having the time of his life. After that wonderful talk that Moody, Lupin and the others gave Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, they began to treat him like a human being. It was great. They had let him get letters from Remus, Ron and Hermione and they let him send letters back. He was still having a tough time believing that Sirius, the one person he loved and trusted was no longer among the living. It saddened him to even think about it.  
  
Harry was lying on his back watching the T.V. in the Dursley's living room. They let him do whatever he wanted as long as he didn't bother them. Dudley usually spent most of his time outside and a s far away from Harry as he could. Since Harry was ordered by Remus and Moody to stay inside at all times Dudley and Harry never ran into each other except at dinner. Even at dinner Harry was treated differently. They always asked him to pass things instead of just reaching for them. They would also ask him if he wanted more. All-in-all life at the Dursley's was great, but he wanted something more than being trapped in the house that he had lived in for 16 years.  
  
On Harry's birthday he received 5 cakes and cards. One from Ron (made by Mrs. Weasley), Hermione, Remus, Dumbledore, and Hagrid. Fred and George sent him their latest joke foods. Cakes that taste like horrible things. Harry found this out the hard way after biting into a dirt flavored cake. They had also enclosed a letter telling him and thanking him for the money to start their dream. Harry had felt very happy knowing that he could help people, even though he was feeling very bad and sad. About three days after his birthday Harry received a letter from Hermione.  
  
Dear Harry,  
  
How have you been? Oh well I know that you have been okay from your letters. Anyways I got a letter yesterday from Ron and it said that you can come and visit us. Then I had a very good idea. So I wrote and asked Dumbledore and he said it was okay. Even Ron said that it was a good idea. We thought that it would be a good idea if you and Ron came and stayed at my house instead of having to go back to Grimmauld Place because of recent err. . .um . .events. Anyways all I need is your response and then it will be all set for you to come. Send your response back ASAP with Hedwig ad I will write you back quickly.  
  
Hermione  
  
Harry could not have more grateful for the letter from Hermione. Harry quickly ran downstairs and seeked out Aunt Petunia. She seemed to be nicer to Harry after that Howler last year.  
  
"Aunt Petunia I need to ask you a question." Harry said cautiously.  
  
"Oh, what is it H. . Har. . Harry," Although they were being civil to each other that doesn't mean that she was okay saying his name.  
  
"Well I just got a letter from one of my friends Hermione, and she wants to know if I can go and spend the rest of the summer with her at her house. So can I go?"  
  
"Well as long as it is okay with those lovely men that we met at the train station. I guess that it's fine."  
  
"Oh of course it's fine with them. Thank you Aunt Petunia. I will come back in a minute to tell you when I leave." And with that Harry ran back up to his room to write a response to Hermione's letter.  
  
Hermione, My Aunt and Uncle said that it is fine for me to go to your house. All I need to know is how to get there and if I will have a ride. Hopefully your parents can give me one. If that's okay with them  
  
Harry  
  
"Come here Hedwig," Harry's beautiful snowy owl flew up to him. "Take this to Hermione and wait patiently for her response." With that Hedwig flew out leaving Harry alone once a gain alone, with only his thoughts.  
  
Ever since last June when Harry had witnessed the surprising death of a very close loved one, he had been thinking a lot about the role that he played in that death. It pained Harry a lot to know that he could have prevented the death. But it was done a and over with no one could change that. . . . Just then Hedwig flew threw the window and dropped a letter in front of Harry. He unrolled it and read,  
  
Harry,  
  
Oh, I am so glad that you can make it. My dad said that if want him to that he will go and pick you up next Monday (today was Thursday). My parents really don't mind about having you guys over. My parents don't usually care about anything. Anyways we'll be there about 5:30 on Monday.  
  
Looking forward to seeing you, Hermione  
  
Harry wondered what she might have meant about 'my parents don't usually care about anything', oh well. Harry was looking forward to seeing Hermione again and her house. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, the characters or the stories. I try my best to come up with stories about them that others will enjoy.  
  
Thanks for reading and please review. The reviews will let me know that people are actually reading this story. I don't care if their bad or not, just please review. Please??  
  
Another turning point  
  
A fork stuck in the road  
  
Time grabs you by the wrist  
  
Directs you where to go  
  
So make the best of this test  
  
And don't ask why  
  
It's not a question  
  
But a lesson learned in time  
  
*~* Greenday ~~ Time of Your Life  
  
Chapter 2: First Impressions  
  
Finally after waiting for days, Monday came and Harry began to pack everything he would need. Once he was done his trunk was a all packed and ready to go. All of his prized possessions were in there in including his Firebolt, Invisibility Cloak, Marauders Map and the pieces of the mirror that Sirius had given him. The Dursley's said that they had to go somewhere, but Harry knew that they just didn't want to be there for when Harry left.  
  
At exactly 5:30 a maroon Astro van pulled up in the driveway. A man was sitting in the drivers seat. Harry thought that it was Hermione's dad. Then he saw Hermione get out of the van and come up the walk. The doorbell rang and he went over to answer it.  
  
"Hi Hermione!"  
  
"Hi Harry!" She gave him a quick hug and then walked in.  
  
"Is your dad coming in?" Harry asked.  
  
"Oh no, he got kind of mad about having to come, we should probably make this quick. Where is your trunk?"  
  
"Upstairs, this way." Harry said as he showed her his room. They carried his trunk (with some difficulty)into the back of the van. Then Hermione walked around to the side.  
  
"We have to sit in the back." She said as she opened the sliding door to let him in. Harry expected Hermione's dad to at least say something but he didn't. When Hermione closed the door, he growled a "ready?" and then pulled out of the driveway. It was a silent drive but every time Harry caught Hermione's eye she gave a sad sort of smile. Harry thought that maybe it was because her dad was mad. Then he wondered if her dad was always this mad. It sadden him to think that.  
  
After a while they pulled into a beautiful house. It was two story and had large unlighted windows. Hermione was the first to speak.  
  
"Home sweet home." She said to Harry as she helped him out of the van. Again her father didn't help but kept going on into the house.  
  
Once inside Harry knew that Hermione's house was far more beautiful than the Dursley's. It was nicely decorated, but all of the windows had the blinds shut. They pulled Harry's trunk into the front room and left it there. Hermione's mom was in the kitchen, cooking.  
  
"Mom, we're home."  
  
"Oh Hermione, I'm glad your back. Was your father a pain?"  
  
"Not more than usual." Hermione said in a small voice.  
  
"Oh hi you must be Harry." Hermione's mom said as she extended her arm for him to shake. "My name is Marie, I'm sorry about my husband, he had umm . . .a rough day at work."  
  
"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Granger."  
  
"Oh please call me Marie. Sit down you two and have some cookies." Hermione and Harry sat down at the table and began eating cookies and milk.  
  
"Don't eat too many, dinner will be ready soon."  
  
After they ate some cookies and had some milk Hermione and Harry lugged his trunk upstairs. On the second floor there were three bedrooms and a loft. Hermione's bedroom was the biggest one to the right of the stairs. The room that Ron and Harry were supposed to share was adjacent to it. There was an extra guest bedroom. The rooms were large and spacious. They were each painted a different color. Harry's room was a deep reddish color. There were two twin beds in there that had gold bedspreads. There was a set of boroughs and a large closet. Harry and Hermione set Harry's trunk at the foot of his bed and then they both went into Hermione's room.  
  
Hermione's room was painted a beautiful light purple. Her bedspread was a violet color with deep purple stars. There was a huge bookcase in the corner of her room that was packed with books. A desk was set in the corner, and it was nice and clean but had any papers stacked on it. Hermione sat on the bed and told Harry that he could sit at the desk.  
  
"So how do you like the house?" Hermione asked as she sprawled on her bed.  
  
"Oh it's just beautiful. I really like it a lot." Harry said sincerely.  
  
"Well there isn't much to do for now, but Ron is coming on Wednesday. I think that Fred or George is going to bring him." Hermione said.  
  
Just then Marie called from downstairs, 'dinner!'. Harry followed Hermione downstairs to the dinning room that was in the kitchen. Hermione's dad was in there too.  
  
"Did you really have to yell like that?" he growled to his wife.  
  
"How else did you expect me to call them down here, Steven?" Marie replied sharply. Harry turned to look at Hermione and she gave a sad sort of smile. "Don't worry," she said. "When dad is reminded that we have company, maybe he wont yell so much."  
  
When they entered the kitchen Steven looked at Harry. Surprisingly his expression didn't change. He was already eating and looked about 3/4 done. He looked over to Hermione.  
  
"I thought you said that you have two friends coming. " He said in a piercing voice.  
  
"Well, dad, if you had paid any attention when we picked Harry up, you would know that there was only one boy with me." Hermione replied.  
  
"Don't you dare take that tone with me young lady. Don't ask me to do anything else for you then." Finally Marie came to the rescue of Hermione.  
  
"Oh yes Hermione when is Ron coming?"  
  
"On Wednesday. Are we eating at the bar?" Hermione asked her mother.  
  
"Yeah is that okay? Come sit down." Hermione and Harry sat down. Harry was looking forward to dinner, but he had a bad feeling about Steven. Luckily Steven finished and left the room. Harry found it odd that he didn't pick up his plate. Marie quietly said to them, "Don't worry about him. Just ignore what he says if you can." Then she turned to Hermione. This was the first time that Harry had looked at her and he saw tears in her eyes. "'Mione, don't worry about him. You are going to have a great time."  
  
With that said Marie served them. They were having grilled chicken with white rice and vegetables. It was very delicious. To drink they had some milk. Harry wasn't a big fan of milk but he drank up. The food was delicious and Harry was glad he was there. After they were done Hermione showed him what to do with his plate and then they headed back up to Hermione's room. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with the Harry Potter characters or the main 5 stories. I do however own the stories that I put them in.  
  
Please, please, please, please review. As long as someone reviews I know that someone is reading this story.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Once in Hermione's bedroom again they both sat on the bed. Hermione spoke first.  
  
"So . . . what do you want to do?"  
  
"Ummm. . . well what can we do?" Harry asked.  
  
" Well. . . we can watch movies, play cards, make a candle, but I guess you don't want to do that. We could always read a book." Harry groaned.  
  
":Oh Hermione, do you always think about reading? Never mind, what kind of question was that?" Hermione just smiled. "Well watching a movie sounds good. What movies do you have?"  
  
Hermione sat up and replied," we have a ton. Almost every Disney movie ever made. I was a big fan of them when I was small. it was kind of like my scapegoat when anything ever happened. I would go and turn my Disney movie on."  
  
"What was your favorite?" Harry asked.  
  
"When I was really young Snow White. I absolutely adored the dwarfs. But once I grew up a bit more I really loved The Princess Bride. It is just so hilarious."  
  
"Oh yeah I liked that too. I haven't seen a lot. There aren't really any Disney movies for kids our age are there? That's always been the worst thing. Every time I would watch one I would feel like a little kid. Oh well."  
  
"I know exactly that feeling. When I was about 11 my dad would yell at me every time I was watching a Disney movie." It was strange Harry had never heard Hermione talking about her family life before Hogwarts.  
  
"Well I don't think a Disney movie will be good right now. What else do you have?"  
  
"The movies are in the loft with the T.V. that has a VCR/DVD. Let's go see." Hermione led the way to the loft as Harry followed. The loft was almost as closed off as her bedroom, but the doorway didn't have a door. There was a large T.V. on a stand on one end. Across from the T.V. was a large plush couch. Next to the T.V. stand was a large cabinet that had all of the movies. When Hermione opened it up Harry knew that she wasn't lying about having every Disney movie.  
  
Other than Disney movies there were a lot of others. They owned a ton of DVDs, that ranged from Top Gun, to Ever After. Hermione stood to the side and said, "Pick one." Harry just looked at her. How was he supposed to pick just one? Well he crotched down and look at looked at all of them. Meanwhile Hermione went to set up the T.V. and make popcorn.  
  
Harry thought to himself, 'Terminator looks good, but strange, Dumb and Dumber looks funny but stupid. Liar Liar could be funny but I'm not in the mood. I don't know.' Then there was a lot of old movies. Jane Eyre, Emma, Pride and Prejudice and The Virgin Suicides. Out of those Emma looked the best. It seemed like a comedy so Harry got it. He also grabbed Spiderman, Lord of the Rings, Signs, and Kate Leopold.  
  
When Hermione came back Harry showed her the movies that he had picked out. It was only 7:00 so they had plenty of time to watch movies.  
  
"Actually Harry, we could probably watch two movies. I suggest Signs and Kate and Leopold. That way we have our share of scary, action, romance and comedy. But whatever you want to do is fine. My parents go to bed early because they have to work at 6:30. Mom said that we can stay up as long as we want to tonight. So what movie do you want to watch first?"  
  
"Well I think that we should watch Kate & Leopold. That looks like an interesting movie. I like the concept. Lets watch it." Hermione put the movie in the DVD player and then went to sit next to Harry on the couch and got the popcorn. Hermione fast forwarded the previews and the movie started. Harry was having a great time eating popcorn and watching the movie.  
  
During the boring parts Harry would ask Hermione questions. "Do you think that it's possible to go back in time like that?" Harry had a very good reason to ask that question. He had been wondering the same thing for a while. Ever since he died. . . .  
  
Hermione looked at Harry and replied, "Well I know that we can go back in time hours at a time, but I'm not sure about centuries. That is an interesting idea though."  
  
Harry knew that she was avoiding the 'Sirius' talk, because she thought it would bother him. Anyways Harry enjoyed the rest of the movie peacefully. After it Hermione said, "Now for the thriller." And popped the movie in.  
  
"Let me warn you now, this movie is scary. A couple of my friends saw it in the theaters and we screamed out loud." Harry laughed at this. "It's not funny," Hermione said. "We were truly scared. Lets see how you handle it Mr. I'm-not-scared-of-anything-boy." Hermione stuck her tongue out at him and then sat back down.  
  
Harry didn't think the movie was that scary until they went outside and in the shadows and the alien thing showed up on the roof. That freaked him out a bit and Hermione noticed.  
  
"Oh is it too scary? just kidding Harry," she replied to the look he gave her. "It really is scary but keep watching it gets better."  
  
When the movie was over, all of the popcorn was gone, and they were all scared out Hermione said, "want some ice cream? We may have things to make hot fudge sundaes."  
  
"That sounds good." They traveled downstairs but when they past Hermione's parents room they heard yelling.  
  
"Oh no, he's doing it again. Just try to ignore it." They made it to the kitchen and grabbed ice cream and bananas from the fridge and freezer. They found bowls and then made the perfect ice cream sundaes. They put everything away and then went back up stairs. Once up there they ate their ice cream and watched TV. When they were done Hermione yawned.  
  
"I think that it's time for bed." Harry yawned and replied.  
  
"Yeah I think so too." They went into their respected bedrooms and went to sleep. Hermione came into Harry's room to remind him that they could sleep as late as they wanted.  
  
And that was the first day at Hermione's house  
  
Even if no one is reading this story than I hope that I will continue and finish it. But if people read and review it will boost my confidence a bit. Also if you have any ideas about what should happen in the rest of this story click that button and drop a review. Anyways until next time. 


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